Health insurance enrollment through the Affordable Care Act begins Saturday

WDBJ 7

ROCKBRIDGE COUNTY, Va. -

It's that time of the year to buy health insurance under the Affordable Care Act.

The second enrollment period begins this Saturday, which means people can sign up for individual health care coverage through the online Marketplace.

The Marketplace had its fair share of ups and downs last year, but experts say it's going to be a lot easier this year.

A lot of work has been done on the Marketplace to get it ready for the new enrollment period, but if there are any problems with it people have a lot of ways to get help here locally.

'The first few weeks are going to be really hectic around here,' said Certified Application Counselor Dennis DeVito.

DeVito currently volunteers as a certified application counselor at the Rockbridge Area Health Center. He is preparing for November 15 when millions of Americans will turn to healthcare.org to purchase health insurance.

Beginning next week, he will guide those people through the process of buying health insurance.

DeVito knows first-hand how frustrating it can be because he enrolled himself in it last year.

'There were days where I would log on and it wouldn't let me on so after 4 or 5 times that I tried to log on I waited for a couple of days before I went back in,' he said.

But it's a whole new ballgame this year.

Healthcare.org spent several months revamping, tweaking and fixing the problems that so many people ran into the first time around.

'The first few months of open enrollment last year did not go as smoothly as we had hoped,' said New Horizon Healthcare Outreach Coordinator Lindsay Etherton. 'However, by the end of open enrollment the system had made exponential improvements.'

This year is expected to be even better, but experts say consumers need to buy their insurance sooner than later.

Last year, enrollment began in mid-October and ended in mid-April.

This year, enrollment will only be open for half of that time so it's important for people to do their homework, purchase the right plan and when in doubt, ask for help.

'The Affordable Care Act and insurance options that are available are quite confusing and complex even for us that are living it every day,' said Rockbridge Area Health Center Director of Development and Outreach Katy Datz.

Whether you buy your insurance through your place of employment or the Health Insurance Marketplace, experts say just make sure you have it.

'The fees are increasing this year,' said Etherton. 'So in 2016, when you file your taxes for 2015, those penalties for not having insurance are going to go up.'

Last year, 7 million people throughout the country enrolled in insurance plans through the Marketplace.

If you are not able to meet the income threshold for the Affordable Care Act and you're not eligible for Medicaid because Virginia is choosing not to expand it, then you will most likely be eligible for an exemption, according to Etherton.

'We understand there is that coverage gap and that's where a lot of those exemptions come into play,' she said. 'It's not your fault that Virginia didn't expand Medicaid.'

Etherton says your best bet is to call and expert and ask for help.

Americans can enroll as early as Saturday, but the enrollment period ends February 15, 2015.

If you enroll in a policy after December 15, your health insurance won't take effect until February 1, 2015.

New Horizon Healthcare in Roanoke and Rockbridge Area Health Center in Lexington will both be taking appointments and phone calls from people that may need help enrolling.

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